Morgan County Sheriff Chief Deputy Alan Host graduated from the FBI National Academy March 15. Host was selected to fill one of only four available spots representing the state of Alabama as he joined 197 other law enforcement officers from 47 states, the District of Columbia, 23 countries, five federal civilian organizations and four military organizations. The FBI National Academy is a prestigious program lauded internationally for its excellence.  

Host, who began his law enforcement career with the Hartselle Police Department in 1991, came to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department in 2014. Having left HPD for full time ministry in 1998, Host answered the call of a lieutenant in the MCSO asking if he was interested in moving back into law enforcement. Host had worked with Sheriff Ron Puckett at HPD and knew it would be a good fit.  

With the support of Sheriff Puckett, who attended the FBI National Academy 2002, Host submitted an application and after 18 months of rigorous vetting, he was accepted for the 289th session. The Academy is a 10-week course in Quantico, Virginia facilitated by FBI agents where attendees are taught the latest advancements in fitness, leadership and communication.  

“I had a wellness class that talked about being well in body, mind and spirit,” Host said. “We went through a lot of material about taking care of oneself and then carrying that on to your agencies and helping develop programs for your agency for law enforcement officers to become stronger mentally, physically and spiritually dealing with the things law enforcement deals with.” 

Host said he was especially invested in the material around helping officers deal with critical incidents. “Suicide rate is very high among law enforcement officers, so I took that course hoping to gain some insight and learn some techniques of how to combat that.” 

In addition to course material that included media relations, critical thinking techniques and a deep dive into violent behavior and how to more thoroughly investigate cases, Host said the networking opportunities and interagency relationships that are built at the FBI National Academy is an incredible asset. “There were folks from all over the country and all over the world,” Host said. “Building those relationships in class and carrying them now helps us share policies and ideas with each other. Our instructors even told us that we would learn a lot from them, but we would learn just as much from each other.”  

Reflecting on the opportunity to attend the academy, Host said his experience was very beneficial from a professional knowledge perspective but added that interacting with so many representatives from other agencies helped him realize the good things about Morgan County. “I realized how good we have it here. We really have the support of our citizens and compared to other places, we really have nothing to complain about. I’m very fortunate and honored to be able to go and very thankful to Sheriff Puckett and I have benefited a lot and hope it makes me a better leader here in our community.”